The speech heard round half of the world

(rep. joe wilson from south carolina, proving that southern manners are highly over-rated.
i'm sure his mother was appalled.)

I loved President Obama's speech.

He clearly explained his priorities. He addressed the issue of how to pay for reform. He called out the Republicans for their lies.

Here is one of my favorite parts, which expresses my feelings about the Republican claim that we need to trust the "free market" to control health care (not to mention Wall Street):
"The danger of too much government is matched by the perils of too little."

Well said.

The question is, was anybody listening? The Republicans were downright rude, waving papers in the air (their health care plan? receipts from the insurance lobbyists? love letters from Argentina?) and even heckling the President, which earned Joe Wilson a look known as the "Icy-Death-Ray-Through-Your-Brain" from Nancy Pelosi.

The Democrats were enthusiastic, and Obama is generally getting good reviews today.

I hate to be the voice of pessimism, but I am disappointed that the public option is becoming more and more marginalized. It looks like we'll all end up being forced to buy insurance, with no real controls on insurance company profits or premium levels.

My suspicions were confirmed by a headline this morning on Reuters.com ...

HMO Shares Rise After Obama Health Reform Speech

Congratulations, UnitedHealth, Blue Cross and Aetna. You're about to get millions of new customers. They will visit a "health insurance exchange" and choose from rate plans that look like this:

~ Basic Plan: Arm and a leg
~ Premium Plan: Your first-born child
~ Platinum Plan: Don't even ask

I guess my husband and I will stick with our current plan. We call it Pull-The-Plug-When-We-Run-Out-Of-Money. It's the only one we'll be able to afford.

~~~

President Obama to address Congress on health care

(feel free to use my words, Mr. President.
just add me to your speechwriting staff and i'll be a happy camper.)

President Obama plans to address Congress on health care next Wednesday.

It's about time.

I hate to say it, but he should have done this before the August recess. After all, we all know what happens at recess. The bully comes out and rules the playground, while the little nerds like me cower in the corner. The bully's friends all put on hats, and make signs showing the teacher with a Hitler mustache, and yell about how only Socialists would make everybody learn the times tables. And then the teacher blows the whistle and lectures the class.

I really don't have time to write a speech for him. But I know what I would say.

I would call it the "What If" speech.

To those Americans who are currently happy with their insurance I would ask:

What if you lost your job? Or even worse, what if you got very sick, and THEN lost your job? What would happen to your insurance coverage? What would happen to your budget, your savings, your family, your life?

To the members of Congress who have been swayed by the bullies, and who are now very clearly saying that they will vote against any form of the public option, including co-ops, which are a totally inadequate idea anyway, I would ask:

What if you have been listening to the wrong people? What if your constituents have been deceived, and are actually arguing against their own best interests, and the best interests of the entire country?

To all the members of Congress, I would say:

What if health reform fails? What will happen to our country's small businesses, our economy and the millions of people who are counting on you to do the right thing? On the other hand, what if you voted for real reform, and it succeeded??? Think about that.

And to the American people, I would say:

What if we all calmed down for a minute? What if we refocused on the original values of this country:
Life.
Liberty.
The pursuit of happiness. Not money. Happiness.

What if we worked together, instead of calling names and making up lies?

What if our children could watch us solve a big problem by truly talking with each other, and truly listening to each other, and in the end, coming up with a big solution?

What if?

~~~